We don’t know much about The Witcher 4 yet (including what its official name will be), but CD Projekt RED has made it abundantly clear that it’s going to be fresh beginning for the fantasy franchise. The next title, which is currently in development under the codename Polaris, is set to kickstart new trilogy of games, which – combined with how The Witcher 3’s second expansion, Blood and Wine, ended – many have taken to mean (among other things) a new protagonist to replace Geralt of Rivia, the star of the original trilogy.
Unsurprisingly, that’s now been confirmed by Doug Cockle, the actor who has voiced Geralt in all the games so far- as has the (equally unsurprising) fact that though he isn’t the protagonist, Geralt is going to return nonetheless. Who is the series going to focus on going forward, then? That’s still very much unknown, even to Cockle (or so he says).
“Witcher 4 has been announced,” he said in a video recently uploaded by YouTube channel Fall Damage (transcription via PC Gamer). “I can’t say anything about it. What we know is that Geralt will be part of the game, we just don’t know how much, and the game won’t focus on Geralt. So it’s not about him this time. We don’t know who it’s about. I’m excited to find out. I want to know! I have not seen any script yet—I mean, I couldn’t tell you if I did. This is the thing, so I could be lying through my teeth. But I’m not. Or am I?”
One would assume that Ciri – Geralt’s adoptive daughter, who was a key character in The Witcher 3, including having her own playable sections – will take up the protagonist’s mantle going forward, especially with Geralt also returning in some capacity. That is, however, pure speculation at this point.
The Witcher 4 is currently the most advanced out of all of the projects that are currently in the works at CD Projekt RED, with over 400 people working on the fantasy RPG. Though it’s currently in pre-production, CDPR has said it intends to begin full production on the project this year itself.